Newcastle boss Alan Pardew is vowing to fight on as he clings to his job after another defeat at Stoke on Monday night.

Peter Crouch’s 14th-minute header was enough to seal victory for Mark Hughes’ men and keep the Magpies joint-bottom of the table, above Burnley only on goal difference following a run of three draws and three defeats so far this season.

The result came hours after owner Mike Ashley was alleged to have told a reporter outside a pub in London that Pardew would be ‘dead, finished and over’ if his team lost at the Britannia Stadium.

Alan Pardew leaves the pitch at the Britannia Stadium under increasing pressure

Newcastle fans unfurled a banner calling for the removal of Alan Pardew as manager

Ashley later claimed he had been joking, but after Newcastle fans unveiled more banners and cards calling for their manager to be sacked, Pardew is under increasing pressure.

‘I don’t know (how secure my job is),’ he said, before confirming he will speak with Ashley ahead of Saturday’s trip to Swansea.

‘It’s another defeat for us and we can’t keep getting beat. We’re going to have to address that.

‘We have to fight – I have to fight and the team has to fight. We will continue to do that until we turn it around.

‘It’s a tough job, I make no bones about that, and it’s tough where we are at the moment.

‘The fans are giving their honest opinion of what they believe. I looked at them and clapped them at the end to show I respect their views.

Pardew looks on as his Newcastle side lose 1-0 away at Stoke City on Monday night

A young Newcastle fan gets in on the action, as he holds up a 'Sack Pardew' banner from the away end

‘I know there is a big question mark about me being at this football club and the only way I can answer that is to do the job to the best of my ability and try to get some answers.’

He added: ‘We (myself and Ashley) will have a serious conversation before Saturday because he doesn’t want to lose and nor do I.

‘I've never been in this situation before, but I'm a professional manager - that's what I do and that's what I’ll continue to do.’

Since beating Stoke 5-1 at St James’ Park on Boxing Day, Pardew’s sorry side have collected just 19 points from 81.

His summer signings – seven of them – have failed to impress and United troubled Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic just once during another insipid display.

And Pardew said: ‘It’s my job to show the players that there a lot of games to go and I have to be strong and show that there is a resilience.

One banner portrayed Pardew as Pinocchio, with the word 'hopeless' underneath

Despite the criticism, Pardew clapped the away support at the end of the match on Monday night

‘We didn’t create enough and we’re honest about that in the dressing-room.

‘If we had got the equaliser we were going to get the ball and go for a winner, because we knew that winning was everything.

‘A draw would have been as bad as a defeat because we need to get a win and we need to get it quick.

‘The final third has been our problem for most of the season. We have to find a little bit more quality there.’

Should he remain in charge for the trip to the Liberty Stadium, Pardew will make changes having hinted he is losing patience with one or two players.

Defender Mike Williamson, however, insists the squad are united behind Pardew.

‘We're tight as a group and we’re 100 per cent behind the manager,’ he said. ‘We win together and we lose together.